of children and families with shattered dreams. why has the russian government banned adoptions by u.s. citizens? >>> and new revelations about ronald reagan's relationships with two of the most powerful women in the world, the queen and margaret thatcher in documents released three decades later. "nightly news" begins now. >>> from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with brian williams. >>> good evening, i'm natalie morales in tonight for brian. it is down to the wire now with about 80 hours until the fiscal cliff deadline. and on what is a holiday weekend for many, that is not the case for congressional leaders in washington. there was a sense of urgency today as the president met with house and senate leaders along with the treasury secretary and vice president a short while ago at the white house to try and forge a last-minute deal. the president says he is optimistic, but at this hour, the fiscal cliff still looms. we begin our coverage with nbc's white house correspondent, peter alexander who has been watching the developments all day. peter, good

. no one is. but it's very christmasy and that's good enough for us. hmm, we're not really sure. no one is. no, only a few more shocking days until christmas. we are toast if casper doesn't scare someone quick. but when it comes to scaring, casper sucks worse than fatso. too bad, we couldn't turn casper into a different ghost. or, turn a different ghost into casper like our nephew, spooky! he looks like his cousin casper. that little guy isn't a bad scarer either. hey, there's a picture of him right here in the ghost academy fear book. yeah, lose the hat and the freckle and you got a good casper. i mean, a bad casper! so, we've got a plan. we get him to come here and impersonate casper then.. snizzle sees him scare the stink out of someone, then.. we have to share our figgy pudding with him? we have to share our figgy...no! we get our haunting licenses back and avoid being left in... the dark. hey look! the fear book gives his number in new york city. i'll call him on my smellular phone. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ nice view, hey poyo! look at all them people way down there. they look like aunts.

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